Mark Memmott

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

Mark Memmott is one of the hosts of NPR's "The Two-Way" news blog.

"The Two-Way," which Memmott helped to launched when he came to NPR in 2009, focuses on breaking news, analysis, and the most compelling stories being reported by NPR News and other news media.

Before joining NPR, Memmott worked for nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor at USA Today. He focused on a range of coverage from politics, foreign affairs, economics, and the media. He's reported from places across the Unites States and the world, including half a dozen trips to Afghanistan in 2002-2003.

During his time at USA Today, Memmott, helped launch and lead three USAToday.com news blogs: "On Deadline;" "The Oval;" and "On Politics," the site's 2008 presidential campaign blog.

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The Two-Way
5:30 am
Tue April 3, 2012

Carnage In Oakland: 'People Started Running, And He Started Shooting'

Credit Noah Berger / AP
Police descended on Oikos University in Oakland, Calif., Monday after the shootings that left at least seven people dead.
  • NPR's Richard Gonzales on 'Morning Edition'

Survivors are telling harrowing tales about what happened Monday morning at Oikos University in Oakland when a man who police say once attended the small Christian school allegedly ordered the dozen or so people in a classroom to line up against a wall, drew a handgun and started firing.

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The Two-Way
12:35 pm
Mon April 2, 2012

ABC News: Enhanced Video Shows Injury To Zimmerman's Head

Credit ABC News
From the enhanced version of the video, showing what may be a gash on George Zimmerman's head.

Reporting that it has had the video "clarified" by a forensics company, ABC News is now saying that a police surveillance recording of George Zimmerman "shows the neighborhood watch captain with an injury to the back of his head."

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The Two-Way
11:05 am
Mon April 2, 2012

Clang! Three Reasons Why Many Shots May Miss Tonight

Credit Ronald Martinez / Getty Images
Anthony Davis of Kentucky during Saturday's victory over Louisville.

Originally published on Mon April 2, 2012 12:52 pm

  • From 'Morning Edition'

Two "powerhouse" programs — Kansas and Kentucky.

Rosters full of potential NBA stars.

All the hype you would expect from an NCAA men's basketball championship.

But, alas, don't be surprised if there aren't as many "silky smooth jumpers" and other great shots as you might expect during tonight's big game, NPR's Mike Pesca reports.

Three things are working against the teams:

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The Two-Way
10:35 am
Mon April 2, 2012

Coming Up: Obama News Conference With Leaders Of Canada And Mexico

Originally published on Mon April 2, 2012 12:50 pm

"It's constitutional," President Obama declared this afternoon when asked about the 2010 health care overhaul legislation that was the subject of three days' worth of Supreme Court hearings last week.

He's confident a majority of the justices will agree, Obama added. Many Supreme Court watchers are less certain.

The president make those comments in response to a question that came up during a joint news conference at the White House with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

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The Two-Way
9:53 am
Mon April 2, 2012

Palin: 'That's A Fine How Do You Do'

Credit The Today Show
Gov. Palin will be on The Today Show Tuesday.

The morning TV air wars get serious again Tuesday with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's guest host slot on NBC's The Today Show — opposite former CBS Evening News' anchor Katie Couric's guest slot on ABC's Good Morning America.

In the lead-in to the faceoff, there was some fun on Today today.

During a phone call with Palin, host Matt Lauer wondered "what are you doing to prepare? Are you reading some newspapers?"

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The Two-Way
9:00 am
Mon April 2, 2012

'Kony 2012' Sequel Due Tuesday

Credit Facebook.com/invisiblechildren

The activist group behind the "Kony 2012" movement and Web video that went viral in March says it will release "Kony 2012, Part II" on Tuesday.

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The Two-Way
8:15 am
Mon April 2, 2012

Construction Spending Dips, But Manufacturing Expands

There was a 1.1 percent decline in spending on construction in February vs. January, the Census Bureau just reported. But spending was still 5.8 percent above the level of February 2011.

According to the bureau, spending on home construction was unchanged in February from the month before. Public construction spending was down 1.7 percent.

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The Two-Way
6:45 am
Mon April 2, 2012

Bin Laden's Wives, Daughters Sentenced To 45 Days Detention, Deportation

Credit Aamir Qureshi / AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani security personnel stand guard outside the house in Islamabad where family members of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden are being held.

"A Pakistani court on Monday convicted Osama bin Laden's three widows and two of his grown-up daughters of illegal residency, sentencing them to 45 days detention and ordering their deportation," Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reports.

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The Two-Way
6:10 am
Mon April 2, 2012

Mega Millions Mystery: Who Won?

Credit Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

The wait continues to see who bought the three winning tickets in Friday's record $656 million Mega Millions lottery drawing.

If for some reason you haven't checked yet (yeah, right!) the winning numbers were 2, 4, 23, 38, 46 and the mega ball was 23.

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The Two-Way
5:25 am
Mon April 2, 2012

Trayvon Martin Case: Voice Calling For Help Isn't Zimmerman's, Experts Say

Credit J Pat Carter / AP
At a rally in Miami on Sunday, Arleen Poitier held a sign with images of Trayvon Martin.

Originally published on Mon April 2, 2012 5:28 am

Over the weekend, The Orlando Sentinel reported that two experts it consulted believe the voice heard calling for help in the background during a 911 call to police is not that of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who says he acted in self defense when he shot and killed Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla.

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The Two-Way
9:40 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Wisconsin Recall Elections Set For June

In Wisconsin, "state elections officials ordered a set of historic recall elections Friday, making [Republican] Scott Walker the third governor in the nation to face a recall and Rebecca Kleefisch [R] the first lieutenant governor to face one," Milwaukee's Journal Sentinel reports.

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The Two-Way
8:30 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Bin Laden Fathered 4 Children, Hid In 5 Safe Houses While On Run, Wife Says

Credit AFP/Getty Images
During the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a video showing the al-Qaida leader watching television was discovered.

During nine years on the run in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden used at least five safe houses and fathered four children, the youngest of his three wives has told Pakistani investigators, according to The New York Times.

Amal Ahmad Abdul Fateh, now 30, married bin Laden in 2000.

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The Two-Way
7:25 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Brother: George Zimmerman Would Be Dead If He Hadn't Defended Himself

Credit CNN.com
Robert Zimmerman Jr., brother of George Zimmerman, during his interview with CNN's Piers Morgan.Â

Originally published on Fri March 30, 2012 7:31 am

"There would have been George dead had he not acted decisively and instantaneously in that moment when he was being disarmed," the brother of George Zimmerman told CNN's Piers Morgan last night in one of the most extensive interviews yet with someone from the family of the man who shot and killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26.

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The Two-Way
6:42 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Consumer Spending Jumped Up In February, Incomes Rose Just A Little

There was a 0.8 percent rise in personal spending in February from January, the Bureau of Economic Analysis just reported. It was the strongest gain in seven months, according to The Associated Press.

But personal income rose just 0.2 percent, the bureau adds. And "disposable personal income," what's left after personal taxes, also rose only 0.2 percent.

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